National Leader in Forensic Psychiatry Receives Prestigious Award

NEWS BRIEF

The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (APPL) recently presented James L. Knoll IV, MD, with the Seymour Pollack Award, for notable achievements in the education and teaching of forensic psychiatry. The award was presented at the 51st APPL Annual Meeting in October 2020.¹

Knoll, director of Forensic Psychiatry and professor of Psychiatry at State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY, said he was honored and humbled to receive the award. He added that it was the support of AAPL, SUNY Upstate, and New York State’s Office of Mental Health that has allowed him the opportunity to pursue his passion for teaching, writing, and forensic investigation. He added that the award further inspires him to explore the interface between psychiatry and the law, as well as train the next generation of forensic psychiatrists.

Knoll, editor in chief emeritus of Psychiatric Times^TM (2010 to 2014), is a nationally recognized expert in forensic psychiatry who has made significant contributions to the research on mass murder and violence. He is chair of the Threat Assessment Subcommittee of the Syracuse School Safety Task Force and has spoken nationally and consulted with law enforcement, including the Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Knoll is one of only a handful of psychiatrists in the country to be accepted as an associate fellow of the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship; the fellowship meets regularly at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA. Before moving to New York, he was the director of Psychiatric Treatment Services for the New Hampshire State Prison system, where he was responsible for the oversight of New Hampshire’s insanity acquitee patient population. Knoll has served as an expert witness in cases of national prominence, such as the “Cleveland Strangler” serial murder case of Anthony Sowell, and the “137 shots” Cleveland Police shooting case. He has served as a stalking risk assessment consultant for law enforcement and victims of stalking for more than 20 years.

A prodigious writer, Knoll’s works include:

• Articles for Psychiatric Times; and the series “Tales from the New Asylums” can be found here.

• Articles for the Correctional Mental Health Report (where he served as co-editor and contributing editor).

• Textbooks of forensic psychiatry, such as: Principles & Practice of Forensic Psychiatry; The Oxford Textbook of Correctional Psychiatry; the Textbook of Forensic Psychiatry; and Clinical Assessment of Malingering and Deception.

• A vast compendium of articles on the Jonestown mass murder-suicide (here).

Reference

1. 2020 AAPL Annual Meeting Livestream Program. October 7-18 & 24-25, 2020. Accessed November 6, 202. https://www.aapl.org/docs/pdf/20200930131518616.pdf